When the Drums Remembered Respect

Previously

…Kaelen walked through the village, his heart light as a bird’s feather. He saw it everywhere, this newfound radiance. The maize stalks in the fields stood taller, their tassels like golden crowns, promising a harvest so bountiful it would fill every granary. The mango trees, usually sparse with their fruit, were heavy with plump, sun-kissed globes, their sweet fragrance mingling with the savory scent of roasting meat from the communal fires. Even the smallest of things seemed touched by this magic – the potter’s clay molded with an unusual ease, producing bowls